Police: Two men killed in Southeast Side gang-related attack

Two men are dead after a shooting at a car wash on Chicago s Southeast Side. (Source: WGN - Chicago)

Two men are dead after a shooting at a car wash on Chicago s Southeast Side. (Source: WGN - Chicago)

Peter NickeasTribune reporter

Two men were shot to death inside a car in the South Deering neighborhood late Thursday night - among five people killed by gunfire between Thursday afternoon and early Friday morning.

The Cook County medical examiner's office identified the men as Michael Hanes, 31, and Christopher Jones, 30. Hanes lived in the 2500 block of East 106th Street and Jones lived in the 7800 block of South Eggleston Avenue, a spokeswoman said.

An autopsy Friday for Hanes found that he died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide. The other victim who was in his 20s, also died of multiple gunshot wounds in a homicide, according to a Friday autopsy report.

The men were at National Pride Car Wash at the southeast corner of Torrence Avenue and 100th Street about 11:10 p.m. when someone opened fire, hitting both multiple times in the body. Each man was also shot once in the head, police said. The attack was likely gang related, according to police and family members at the scene, who acknowledged the dead men both had ties to an area gang.

The men were found inside a small red sedan by responding police. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Cameras sit atop each of the 11 car wash bays but it's not clear if police were able to get useful video from the business.

Police hung tape around the entire parking lot and later expanded the size of the scene and posted more officers around it after family members tried to get a glimpse of their loved ones by ducking under the tape or running through the back of the car wash.

An officer nearby heard the shots and police set a perimeter on Torrence to prevent anyone from getting into the neighborhood west of Torrence. Train tracks border the crime scene on the east side and an industrial area lies beyond that.

Police arrested one person running from the scene, who tried to flee across Torrence. He was captured after a brief foot pursuit in a back yard west of Torrence Avenue. It’s not yet clear if he’s a suspect or just someone running from a double homicide.

A Chicago Police Department K9 unit searched near the train tracks east of the car wash. The car where the men were shot was also found on the eastern edge of the property. At least a dozen casings were found at the scene.

Family gathered at the scene a couple hours after the attack. One of the men was engaged and recently celebrated his 30th birthday. The other had young children, they said.

Both men affiliated with the same gang and were shot near a border between gang territories though police say the shooting may have stemmed from an internal gang conflict.